ASIA, WILLIAMS TO PLAY IN ASIAD

The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Board finally


granted the request of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) to

tap two of its star players for the RP-Smart Gilas team, paving the

way for Asi Taulava and Kelly Williams’ stint to the Asian Games in

Guangzhou, China this November.

The league’s Board of Governors under chairman Rene Pardo

unanimously approved the appeal of the country’s governing body for

basketball during the first day of its planning session in this lively

capital city of Thailand.

“The PBA Board has acceded to the request of the Samahang

Basketbol ng Pilipinas to help in the quest of our national team to

the Asian Games,” announced commissioner Chito Salud at the end of the

Board’s initial meeting that lasted close to six hours.

A third player in James Yap however, begged off from suiting up

for the national team, citing personal reasons and the recent surgery

performed on him to remove a polyp on his nose.

“James has personally begged off to play dahil dun sa mga

dinadanas niya ngayon,” said Pardo of B-Meg’s main man.

With Yap out of the national squad, the league said it’s up to

the SBP to fill up the slot left by the 6-foot-2 gunner out of

University of the East.

Patrick Gregorio, Board representative of Talk `N Text, which

also sponsors the national team, said coach Rajko Toroman will be the

one to decide which player is going to take the place of Yap.

Toroman and the rest of the nationals are currently in China

competing in the 4th Asian Basketball Association Club Championship.

Both Salud and Pardo also stressed they plan to sit down with

SBP officials, led by president Manny V. Pangilinan, to identify the

specific role the PBA will have to play in the overall program of the

basketball body.

The league used to be in the forefront of forming and training

the national team to elite competitions such as the Asian Games and

FIBA-Asia men’s basketball tournament, but then slowly faded away from

it the moment the RP-Smart Gilas team was put into place.

At the same time, Salud made it clear that Chot Reyes’ stint as

special assistant to Toroman is only until the duration of the

Guangzhou Asiad.

Also approved by the Board was the improvised rules on

officiating Salud and his technical group made for application in the

coming 36th season.

The new commissioner said he is ready for any criticisms that

may arise out of the set up, stressing that it `comes with the

territory.’

But he said he’s confident that it `will work out not

immediately, but sooner.”

Other agenda tackled and subsequently given the imprimatur by

the Board were the employment of a 14-man lineup for each team and the

right to field in all 14 players during the game, and a 6-4 height

limit to imports seeing action in the second conference and the

application of a handicap import system in the season-ending

tournament.

Aside from Pardo, elected as other officers of the Board were

Mamerto Mondragon (Rain or Shine) as vice chairman and JB Baylon

(Powerade) as treasurer.

Other Board members present during the two-day planning

session were former chairmen Joaqui Trillo (Alaska) and Ely Capacio

(San Miguel), Robert Non (Ginebra), Gregorio, Ramon Segismundo

(Meralco), Johan Ramos (Air21), Manny Mendoza (Barako Bull) and

one-time chairman Buddy Encarnado.(pr)